Balsamic Vinaigrette is one of the easiest salad dressings you can make! This healthy balsamic vinaigrette recipe is sweetened just a little with a touch of raw honey.
Unless we've just met, you'll know that I love my fresh salads! I serve one with almost every meal and often order them in restaurants.
Being gluten free doesn't mean that you must fill up on gluten free breads and baked goods. Our diets should consist mainly of vegetables, fruits, and clean proteins.
Salads are a great way to incorporate vegetables, especially raw ones, into our food plans. I like to keep a constant supply of simple homemade salad dressings in my refrigerator, often having a couple of different ones going at the same time. You may be familiar with
- Poppy Seed Dressing
- Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Honey Mustard Dressing
- Simple Herb Vinaigrette
- The Whole Collection
Now you can add Balsamic Vinaigrette to your rotation. It's a very simple dressing that will serve you well.
How to Make Balsamic Vinaigrette
Because the success of your healthy Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe depends on the quality of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar that you use, choose them wisely.
How to Buy Olive Oil
Buy the best olive oil you can afford. If possible, purchase your oil where sampling is offered. It should smell fresh - like olives - not rancid, musty, or vinegary.
Extra-virgin olive oil is unrefined. This means that neither chemicals nor heat were used to extract the oil from the olives. It retains more of the nutrients from the fruit. This is the kind you want. Stay away from "light" olive oil. It's been refined, as has any that's simply labeled "Olive Oil."
There've been reports of olive oils that are not pure olive oil, but rather diluted with less expensive oils not noted on the label. Try to find a trusted brand.
Olive oil doesn't have as long a shelf life as one might think, so buy it in small enough amounts to use up quickly. It should come in a dark glass bottle or tin as light will destroy its flavour.
How to Choose Balsamic Vinegar
Conveniently, balsamic vinegar is usually sold in the same stores that sell olive oils and allow sampling. For this recipe, I use a basic balsamic vinegar, but it would be fun to experiment with some of the varieties of vinegars offered!
Balsamic vinegar is made from grape juice that has been cooked until it's reduced into a syrup called must, which is then fermented and aged in wooden barrels. For more information on balsamic vinegar, check out this article on The Spruce Eats.
Read your labels carefully. The best balsamic vinegar is labeled 100% barrel-aged balsamic vinegar. Many less-expensive ones will contain wine vinegar or red wine vinegar and caramel. If you can't get pure balsamic vinegar, at least select one that has balsamic vinegar listed first, before wine vinegar, on the ingredients list and doesn't have other added ingredients.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Calories
Are you counting calories? If so, you'll want to know that this salad dressing contains 71 per tablespoon. Tossed with a big bowl of lettuce and raw vegetables, it will give you the feeling that you have eaten enough without bogging you down.
I have counted calories in the past. Sometimes it's a good way to get a handle on how much we're consuming. However, I feel that it's more important to concentrate on the quality of nutrition we consume, fuelling our bodies with the foods that are good for us, and moderating our portion sizes.
It's my hope that a delicious salad dressing like this one will get everyone eating more vegetables!
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! 🙂
Recipe
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar, put a lid on it, and shake to combine.
Jillian says
Balsamic Vinaigrette is one of my all time favorite dressings! I'm a happy camper with a big salad and this dressing!
Cathy says
Isn't it wonderful when made with a great balsamic vinegar!
Leola Penagin says
How long is the shelf life once mixed together?
Cathy says
Since there are no fresh herbs in balsamic vinaigrette, I keep mine in the refrigerator for up to a month.